


Like a fire that’s afraid to light

by rosebudryot



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, The Gangs All Here, but not a lot because that’s sad, everyone is a mess, scorpia is catra’s guardian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 16:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19277563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosebudryot/pseuds/rosebudryot
Summary: “She thought of blonde hair, and a squinty-eyed laugh. She thought of Adora’s worried face when Catra stepped out of the principal’s office. She thought of Weaver’s warning. It felt less like a threat and more like a joke. Because really, how could she stay away?‘I want to learn how to ride a bike.’”They meet in the principal’s office, because sometimes accidents aren’t really accidents at all. It’s hard to care about detention when Adora’s taking her hand and making her laugh. That’s just how these things go.





	Like a fire that’s afraid to light

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHHHH! so... here’s this i guess. this is meant to be a whole thing but let’s see how well i stick to that. if y’all enjoy this, please please let me know! feedback is greatly appreciated and it honestly makes it easier to write when i know somebody is looking forward to it. that being said, i’m a mess and this might have a lot of mistakes. please excuse those! i’m just excited to write abt these messes. enjoy!!

It was no secret that Catra wasn’t exactly the most well-behaved student. She was loud, and impulsive, and quick to snap at her classmates (and occasionally teachers.) It wasn’t that she really meant to misbehave, most of the time. She just had different ideals than everyone else. Scorpia said that she was just spirited, whatever that meant.

Still, even if she was getting used to her frequent trips to the front office, this seemed ridiculous. It was her first week of third grade, and she was already taking the walk of shame, referral slip clutched tightly in one small fist.

Catra pushed open the heavy glass door to the office with a huff. She passed by here every day when she got off the bus, but she hadn’t been inside yet. There was a big desk shoved in the back of the room, with plenty of fake flowers and motivational posters. 

The office lady residing behind the desk looked up at Catra, peering at her from behind giant round glasses. Her hair was long and gray and looked like the last time it had seen a brush she had been the one in third grade. Her name tag said “Razz.”

“What can I do for you, dear?” Razz even sounded old.

Catra grimaced at the pet name and slid the referral slip onto the desk. Razz took the bright yellow paper and narrowed her eyes intensely as she read over Catra’s crimes. There was a faint smile on her face as she finished reading, tucked the paper into a nearby folder, and stood.

“Well, it happens to the best of us. Come right this way, dear. We’ll get you put in the waiting room.” Razz wobbled over to a door on the right wall, one hand clutching a thin cane.

Catra followed obediently behind, scowling. Razz pulled the heavy wooden door open effortlessly and held it open for Catra to walk inside.

“Well, Adora, it seems like you have some company while you wait!” Razz spoke to someone Catra couldn’t see, and then pushed Catra into the room gently and turned towards her. “You can just sit and wait here until Principle Weaver calls you in, okay?” Before Catra could get in a word, Razz was walking out and the door was slamming shut behind her.

Catra huffed again in protest of the general state of her morning. This room was smaller than the one she had just been in, and it was filled with ripped up chairs and a coffee table that was barely functional. It was also inhabited by a blonde girl who was clutching a hall pass like a lifeline and staring right at her.

The girl didn’t stop looking at her, even as Catra sat down in a chair in the corner and began to pull the foam out of a rip in the seat. Catra was perfectly content to leave the other girl alone and wait for her sentencing, but people were far too friendly these days. That, or they were just unable to pick up on social cues.

“Hi, I’m Adora,” the blonde girl said.

“I know,” Catra responded, “the office lady just said.”

“Her name is Razz. She’s super nice,” Adora continued, undeterred even in the face of Catra’s snark. “What’s your name?”

“Catra.” Her voice came out harsher than intended, and the room fell into silence for a moment.

“I like your hair.”

Catra stopped picking at the chair and looked up at Adora. “Thanks, I grew it myself.”

That made the other girl smile, and she loosened her grip on the hall pass she was holding. “So, what did you do to get sent to the office?”

Catra grimaced at the question, and crossed her arms. She had completely forgotten why she was here for a moment. “Why are you here?”

Adora’s nose scrunched up and she crossed her arms to mirror Catra. “I asked you first!”

Catra stuck her tongue out. “I asked you second!”

“You’re so dumb!” Adora started to giggle while simultaneously trying to keep her face scrunched in annoyance, only making herself laugh harder.

Catra felt her face flush defensively, even though she knew Adora wasn’t being serious. “Your face is dumb!”

Adora burst out laughing at that, covering her mouth with both hands. “Whatever!”

Adora’s laugh was loud. Catra couldn’t help but look around slightly, expecting someone to come tell them to quiet down. Adora snorted when she laughed, and her eyes squinted so hard it looked like they were closed. Catra waited until Adora’s laugh petered out into a wheezy giggle before speaking again.

“So, what did you do to get sent here, huh?” Catra knew she wasn’t being 100% fair, but she didn’t want to just tell her whole life story right away. Sure, Adora seemed trustworthy enough, but a little part of Catra’s mind was whispering that Adora probably wouldn’t want to talk to her anymore when she found out what Catra had done.

Adora pouted a little, and tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you can’t… laugh, or make fun of me or anything, okay? Promise?”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. I promise,” Catra shrugged.

Adora nodded, then looked around the room as if she was checking for anyone who might eavesdrop on their conversation. Catra rolled her eyes out of habit. Adora whispered something in Catra’s ear, so rushed and quiet that it was mostly unintelligible except for “so, I, um.” 

Catra squinted. “What?”

“I blew something up,” Adora sighed

“What?”

“You can’t make fun of me! You promised!” Adora exclaimed.

“I’m not making fun of you, I’m just… how did you manage to blow something up?”

“I wasn’t really paying attention in science class, and I, uh, knocked something over. It was an accident! But my teacher was super mad that I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to in the first place and she sent me here,” Adora rambled. Her face turned a blotchy red and she avoided Catra’s eyes.

Catra started laughing. She couldn’t help it. Of course it was something like that. There wasn’t a malicious bone in this girl’s body. She was just an airhead.

“Catra! You promised!” 

Catra took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. “I know, I know! It’s just kinda funny,” she rolled her eyes as Adora began to pout, “and there’s no way that you blew something up! We’re in third grade, they wouldn’t give us anything that we could make explode!”

Adora crossed her arms and her cheeks puffed out. She continued to look away, less out of embarrassment now and more out of mild irritation. “Okay, so, maybe it wasn’t an explosion… but it felt like one! It was really loud!”

Catra tried not to start laughing again. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, whatever! It was scary at the time!” Adora smiled against her will. “You have to tell me why you’re here now. We had a deal.”

Catra frowned and didn’t say anything, convinced that whatever fragile “friendship” (she wasn’t even sure Adora was her friend yet) they had would be ruined if she admitted why she was there.

“Catra…? I promise I won’t laugh,” Adora said gently.

“Fine, I’ll tell you!” Catra groaned. “I hit some kid in the face with a soccer ball in P.E. It’s stupid! I didn’t even mean to this time! I mean… he was being a jerk, so I don’t feel that bad, but I really didn’t mean to!”

The only thing that stopped Catra from continuing her rant was the small hand that Adora set on her shoulder. She had hunched her shoulders without realizing, and she was clutching one of her knees to her chest.

“Well, you didn’t mean to. So… it’s not that bad, right?”

“But I really, really wanted to.”

“But you didn’t,” Adora smiled. “So it’s okay. It was just an accident. I’m sure Principal Weaver will understand.”

Catra’s smile momentarily faltered when she heard the Principal’s name. In her opinion, every authority figure she had ever come in contact with wanted her to get in trouble. She shook that thought out of her mind and decided to nod at Adora instead.

—•—•—•—

They moved on from there, opting instead to ask each other questions while they waited. 

“You can ride a bike?!” Catra was sitting upside down in her chair, legs propped up on the wall. The bell had already rung for the next class, and their infamous principal was still nowhere to be found. Catra secretly hoped that maybe she hadn’t come in today at all.

“Yeah! You can’t?” Adora was sitting criss-cross in her own chair, facing sideways towards Catra. She didn’t seem to mind that they were missing class. 

Catra stuck her tongue out. “I mean, I probably could if I tried. It can’t be that hard if you can do it, right?”

“Hey!” Adora sputtered. “I’ll have you know that it took me three whole days to master it! But I can ride to school now, so it was worth it.”

“Wait,” Catra looked sharply over at Adora. “You ride your bike to school? I just ride the bus...”

“Well, I live pretty close to the school. Do you live far away?” 

“I mean… no. I live pretty close, I guess. It’s just that I can sleep longer if I ride the bus.” Catra mumbled the last part.

Adora giggled. “Yeah, well, you should learn how to ride a bike! Maybe we could ride together! We might even live super close together! We could—”

Adora was suddenly cut off by the door to the principal’s office swinging sharply open. Principal Weaver stepped out, her glare buffered only by the large shaded glasses she wore. 

“Adora?” She sounded surprised to see Adora, of all people, sitting in the waiting room. Her expression soured as her eyes landed on Catra. “You may come in now.”

Adora stood up quickly from her chair, glancing briefly over at Catra. Catra gave a slight nod in response, then turned her eyes back to Principal Weaver as Adora walked into the office with her eyes glued to the floor and hands clasped tightly in front of her.

The principal shot one last scolding look at her as the door shut, and then Catra was left by herself in the suddenly too large waiting room.

—•—•—•—

It didn’t take long for the door to reopen, Adora shuffling out with a polite smile. She hesitated for a moment when Principal Weaver called Catra into her office, glancing uncertainly at the other girl.

Principal Weaver looked at Adora, and that was all it took to send the blonde scurrying out of the doorframe. 

Catra had already taken a seat in the large red chair facing the principal’s desk. All of her confidence had left her the moment Adora stepped out of the room, and now she just wanted to get it over with.

Principal Weaver hardly glanced at Catra before speaking. “Three days’ detention. After school.”

Catra sputtered. “I— you don’t even know what—.”

“I don’t need to.” Principal Weaver said decisively, cutting her off. “You will arrive for detention and you will not complain. Unless you want me to upgrade it? A week, perhaps? Maybe suspension?”

“No, ma’am,” Catra mumbled.

“Good girl. Now get out. I have things to attend to.” Weaver turned away, done with the exchange.

Catra hesitated a moment before sliding out of the chair and making her way to the door. She had almost finished turning the doorknob when Weaver spoke again.

“Oh, and Catra? Don’t get any ideas. Adora is a model student, and I won’t have you hindering her in any way. Are we clear?”

Catra nodded quickly and slipped out of the room as fast as she could.

—•—•—•—

She found Adora sitting in the same chair she had been in before, anxiously chewing one of her nails. 

“Ew,” Catra grimaced. “That’s kinda gross.”

Adora ignored the remark as she practically jumped out of her chair and made her way over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s not like I’ve never gotten in trouble before.”

Adora frowned. 

“I’m serious. It’s no big deal! We should probably get to class, though.”

Adora snapped back to attention at that. “Oh my gosh, class! We’re so late! I’m gonna be so behind, what if I missed something important?”

Catra shook her head and snickered. “You’re fine. It’s not like we chose not to go or anything. Principal Weaver just took forever.” 

“Shh!” Adora stuck her hand over Catra’s mouth and looked around anxiously. “What if she hears you?”

Catra just rolled her eyes.

—•—•—•—

“Scorpia, I’m home!” Catra shouted as she threw her bag in the chair next to the door. It was one of the only ones left in the house that functioned properly, and she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be able to do that much longer if she kept throwing her bag in it at full force.

“I’m back here!” came the reply from somewhere in Scorpia’s room.

Catra found her huddled in bed, surrounded by blankets and shoving popcorn into her mouth. Some random reality TV show murmured quietly in the background, despite the many times Catra had insisted those things would rot her brain.

Scorpia patted the space next to her, and Catra climbed up begrudgingly. She thrust a hand into the popcorn bucket, quickly stuffing a few handfuls in her mouth.

“How was your day, wildcat?” Nicknames were another thing Scorpia continued to enjoy despite Catra’s multiple warnings. 

“It was fine.” Catra mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

Scorpia waited expectantly for her to continue. Catra finished chewing, but still hesitated for a moment. She thought of blonde hair, and a squinty-eyed laugh. She thought of Adora’s worried face when Catra had stepped out of the principal’s office. She thought of Weaver’s warnings to stay away from the model student. 

“I want to learn how to ride a bike.”

**Author's Note:**

> so... thoughts? comments and kudos are appreciated. come yell at me on tumblr! @ rosebudryot


End file.
